Abnormal climatic conditions in the Indian and Pacific Oceans during the 2010-2011 La Niña event combined to create the extreme marine heatwave seen off the Western Australia coast in 2011, according to a new paper published in Nature Scientific Reports.

Ice cores drilled in the Greenland ice sheet, recounting the history of the last great warming period more than 120,00 years ago, are giving scientists their clearest insight to a world that was warmer than today.

Scientist’s efforts to fathom how the oceans influence climate and fisheries productivity enter a new era this month with the milestone establishment of a network of 3,000 futuristic, 1.5-metre tall ocean robots operating simultaneously throughout the world’s oceans.